Early life

Brown graduated from Warrensville Heights High School in 1989, studied communication studies at the University of Akron, and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 1994. She became a sister of the Delta Pi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha as an undergrad at the university.

After graduating, Brown took acting classes in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Career

Brown first appeared on commercials before entering television shows and films. She has played roles on television shows such as The War At Home, Malcolm in the Middle, That's So Raven, and the US version of The Office. She also had a recurring role as movie theater manager Helen Dubois in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh, which she reprised in a season 2 episode of Victorious. She also provided the voice of Cookie on The Hub Network's Pound Puppies.

In 2009, Brown began starring as Shirley Bennett on NBC's Community. She has also appeared in television commercials for Hamburger Helper, Big Lots, Pine-Sol, Comcast, Aquapod, Shout, Fiber One, Yoplait Yogurt, DiGiorno Pizza, Dairy Queen, and Time Warner. In 2012, Brown appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with her fellow Community co-star Danny Pudi.